Darlene Loomer Named 2016 Tigard Shining Stars “From the Heart” Volunteer

Darlene Loomer has been selected as the 2016 Tigard Shining Stars “From the Heart” Volunteer of the Year, named in honor of Jim Hartman.  Jim Hartman set the standard for this award by his example of giving from the heart to his community, and the “From the Heart” award honors a person who has dedicated their time and energy to a specific cause in the Tigard community.  This person gives willingly, energetically and consistently; they might be well known or might be a “quiet” volunteer, unrecognized until now, but always gives “from the heart”!  This person may have worked on the same project for many years.“Darlene Loomer is an extraordinary woman with a huge heart for helping children in need. Not only does she serve as our volunteer Operations Manager, she regularly goes out of her way to find other avenues assisting those who need it”, states Rose Money, Director of the Caring Closet at Tigard High School.
Darlene began at the Caring Closet over 5 years ago. Since her first day there she has been 110% committed to helping them continue their mission to clothe low income Tigard-Tualatin school district children. Darlene’s duties are vast and often require 30-40 hours per week of her volunteer time, year round and often on weekends. She manages all of the Closet’s clothing donations, organizational systems and helps to create and execute large and small on-site volunteer projects that our community regularly does for the Closet.
The Caring Closet serves 1,600 children yearly and by the end of the school year, will have provided an estimated 40,000 items to students in need. The inventory management that Darlene provides is a HUGE job and the Caring Closet could not operate without her constant attention.  As a part time director, she is the right hand of the Caring Closet Director, Rose Money.
To quote Rose “Not only does she do her job diligently day after day, her heart shows through with all she does. When the store is full of clients, she’s often called upon to provide back up on top of her regular duties. She tirelessly puts forth dedication such as I’ve never seen to serve our students. No one smiles more broadly when a happy child leaves the Closet or cries harder when we hear about a particularly difficult situation one of our clients is facing. She is the unrecognized face of the Closet and no other has had the impact she has had on thousands of our community children in need.”
Please join us in congratulating Darlene and thanking her for her service to our Tigard community.  Her award will be formally presented with other Tigard volunteer and business awards at Tigard’s 2016 Shining Stars Community Awards Celebration, sponsored by Title Sponsors Center Street Gold & Silver and HomeStreet Bank (King City/Tigard Branch).  The event will be held on Friday, April 29th from 5:30-9 p.m. at Embassy Suites – Washington Square, our event location host.  With a theme of “Diamonds are Forever”, this elegant themed dinner event includes dinner, silent auction, dessert dash, awards, and more. Tickets are $45/person.  Dress your best and join us to celebrate Tigard!
For further details about Shining Stars, please contact the Tigard Chamber of Commerce at 503-639-1656 or at events@tigardchamber.org, or go to our webpage at www.tigardchamber.org.
About the Caring Closet  
The Caring Closet is dedicated to providing shoes, clothes and school supplies at no charge throughout the year to thousands of Tigard and Tualatin students in need. For the past 14 years, the Caring Closet has positively impacted the lives of area children by giving them the pride and confidence that comes from having clean, appropriate and adequately-fitting shoes and clothes. Pride and confidence that are essential to a child’s success in school – and in life.  Learn more at http://ths.ttsdschools.org/pages/TigardHS/Caring_Closet